Someone to save him
by InThisIllusion
Summary: Eli and Clare are the perfect couple. But when Eli's abusive father is back. . .can Clare keep him safe?
1. Chapter 1

"Are you sure you don't want a bite?" I jokingly asked, holding my turkey sandwich out towards my boyfriend. Eli pretended to consider it for a second before shrugging his shoulders and leaning towards me to nibble on my neck. "I meant a bite of my sandwich!" I squealed while turning my head in an attempt to conceal the blush that had formed. I heard Eli chuckle as he slid across the bench we were sharing and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I sighed and leaned in to his chest. I smiled when the cool autumn breeze made the tree branches sway, scattering more leaves across the lawn then there already were. This was how we had been spending our lunch break everyday for the past two weeks. Eli glanced at his black leather watch with silver skulls lining the length of the band, that I had given him for our 3 month anniversary. "Fuck I'm gonna be late for my French exam! If I fail this I'm dead!" He exclaimed as he picked up his bag and ran inside the building. I couldn't help but smile. He hardly ever swore in front of me. When it came to manners Eli was more than a gentleman.

After enjoying the weather for a few minutes longer I stood up and gathered my belongings. I buttoned up my sweater that so it covered up the red satin shirt Alli insisted I bought. According to her it showed off "the perfect amount of cleavage." But when it came to things like that Alli and I didn't see eye to eye. After I looked around to make sure I had everything, I headed into the building. I made it to class with just seconds to spare and took my spot next to KC, my ex boyfriend who I was assigned to do a project with. Although we were both over our broke up it was still tense. I was upset at him for what he did to Jenna. Despite what happened in the past, we were still friends and I knew how much he hurt her. "Hey Clare" he said not looking up from the notebook he was doodling on. I didn't bother giving him a greeting. I told him what I had come up with for the diagram we needed and insisted we got to work. My next 3 classes went by fast and before I knew it the day was over.

I sat on the hood of Eli's car and played with a loose string hanging from the hem of my skirt. He should have been there 10 minutes ago and I was starting to get worried. I knew he was plenty capable of taking care of himself, but I also knew how easily he seemed to get himself into trouble. I really didn't want another Fitz incident like we had last year. Another 3 minutes passed and there was still no sign of Eli. I dug my phone out of my purse and dialed his number which I knew by heart. When he didn't answer I tried again. Another 3 minutes passed and I decided I needed to go look for him. I slid off of his car and made my way through the parking lot.

"Eli what's wrong?" I asked sitting down next to him. I had found him sitting on the concrete stairs leading up to the school, with his head in his hands. When he didn't answer I put my hand on his shoulder and gently shook him. "My dad." He said in a barely audible voice after I had repeated my question. I didn't know much about his dad. Just that he had left when Eli was 14.


	2. Chapter 2

*Eli's pov*

I couldn't believe I had let Clare see me like that. I hated people seeing me cry, it caused people to feel sorry for you and that is the last thing I wanted. I didn't need people's sympathy. She must have thought I was an idiot, but there was no way I could tell her why I was so upset. The second I heard my dad's voice it felt like the entire world stopped. I had managed to block out most of my memories of him, but when I heard him over the phone everything that had happened had come flooding back to me. What happened after that was all a blur. The next thing I remember was sitting on the steps outside of my school crying with my head on Clare's shoulder while she kept trying to tell me it was going to be okay. Easy for her to say. She didn't know what happened between me and that bastard I called a father.

"Eli Adam's here!" My mom called from downstairs. I listened to his footsteps as he took the stairs two at a time. I didn't bother getting up out of bed.

Adam knocked on my bedroom door and opened it before I could tell him to leave. "Dude, what's going on?" He asked as he shut my door and made his way over to my bed. He sat on the edge and watched me, waiting for a reply.

I rolled on to my back and stared at my dark red ceiling. I wanted black but my mom told me it was too depressing. I knew her real reason was because it would be a pain to paint over. "What do you mean?" There was no way he could have known what had happened after school. It had barely been an hour since Clare had found me.

"Clare called me when she got home." He looked away pretending to study a poster hanging on my wall.

Damn it. She had promised she wouldn't say anything about that. I sighed loudly. "Of course she did." I loved Clare but she had a problem with keeping things to herself.

"Oh don't be mad at her. She's just worried about you." Adam paused and then added, "And so I am."

I couldn't decide whether or not I should tell Adam what was going on. He knew about my dad. I told him last year when he was being beaten up at school. But if I told him he might tell Clare and I just wasn't ready for that. I grabbed my phone from the table next to my bed and pretended to write a text so I could have a few more minutes to think.

"My dad called me today. He's coming back" I finally found the courage to tell him. I heard him gasp. "And that's not even the worst part." I admitted. I grabbed Clare's ring that had been sitting next to my phone and began twisting it between my fingers, waiting for Adam's reaction.

"Eli, what's worse than having your dad come back?" He asked slightly shocked. From the corner of my eye I swore I saw his jaw drop a little bit.

"My mom's letting him stay with us until he finds his own place." I bit my lip trying to keep myself from crying. I wouldn't let a guy see me cry. Not even someone who wasn't a real guy.

"Fuck Fuck Fuck!" Adam yelled. Then remembering my mom was right downstairs he lowered his voice. "Sorry but, this can't be happening." I could tell he was worried about me. Again with the sympathy. Exactly what I was trying to avoid.

"I know" I whispered under by breath. "And there's nothing I can do. I told my mom I didn't want him living here. She wouldn't listen." I closed my eyes as my vision started getting blurred by tears.

We were both sat in silence for at least five minutes. I continued to absent mindedly play with the ring in my hand while wondering what Adam could possibly be thinking about. I couldn't even imagine what I would do if one of my bestfriends came to me with a problem this huge. I suddenly felt guilty. Adam had more than enough of his own problems, he didn't need mine too.

"Adam I'm sorry." I began. "I shouldn't be dumping all of this on you. It's not fair." How could I be so inconsiderate? I really was a bad friend.

"Eli you're not _dumping _anything on me. But there's not much I can do on my own." After pausing for a short second he blurted out the exact thing I was praying he wouldn't say. "I think you need to tell Clare."

I gave a quick smile to the waitress as she sat down my Latte and the Lemon Iced Tea I'd ordered for Clare. When the waitress left I went back to staring out the windows, watching people as they walked by 'The Dot.' As always the small café was beyond crowded, but by now I was used to it. The sounds were easy to ignore, especially when I put my headphones in and blared my "Creepy emo rock music" as Clare called it. I smiled when I thought of Clare.

I sighed in relief as she opened the glass door and hurriedly came and sat at the small round table we always sat at. I was starting to worry she wouldn't come. I wouldn't blame her if she didn't, I probably scared her after my by breakdown earlier today.

"There you are!" I yelled in exaggerated relief. "I was starting to think you stood me up. I hope you had a good reason." I said tilting my head to the side and raising an eyebrow.

"Eli I am so sorry! My sister called and I couldn't get her to stop talking." She said quickly. I could tell she felt bad about it.

"Not a good enough excuse." I flashed her smile to make sure she knew that I was only kidding. She smiled back which only made me smile more.

After a few seconds of smiling at each other like love sick idiots, her perfect lips slipped into a frown. "So does this mean you're feeling better?" She asked timidly. "You really scared me."

"Well actually that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Clare just nodded at me while taking a sip of her tea. "But I need to tell you this without you interrupting me."

"Of course. Just tell me please."

I didn't know where to start. I couldn't even remember how old I was the first time. It had been going on for as long as I remembered. I decided it'd be easier to just get straight to the point.

"Every night until I was almost 11 my dad would come into my room. He'd _do _things to me." I stopped to see if Clare understood. Her mouth was hanging open so I took it as a sign that she did. "He told my mom that I had bad dreams. That that was why he always came in my room in the middle of the night. I don't know what's worse, that she believed him or that I didn't tell her the truth." I stopped again to make sure it had sunk in before I continued. That was when I realized I wasn't crying. This was the first time I had ever even _thought_ about it without crying.

Clare started to say something but I cut her off. "I thought you weren't going to interrupt?" I asked, trying to manage a smile. She mumbled a quick apology and let me continue.

"When that finally stopped was when he got. . ." I struggled for the right word. "Violent. He started hurting me. It started out with just tiny slaps across the face then it got worse." I paused to think about what to say next. I didn't look up from the top of the table I was staring at. "Then he punched me. One time he took out his pocket knife and cut my shoulder." I lightly touched the scar that I knew was there under my jacket.

I heard Clare gasp but I ignored it. "There's still a hole in our living wall where he slammed my head into it when I was 13. I was unconscious for hours. When he left on my 14th birthday. . . that was the happiest day of my life. I tried to tell my mom what happened a few months later. She didn't believe me. She said I was just mad at him for leaving."

I finally snapped back to reality when I saw Clare had her hand over her mouth and was crying. I thought I'd be the one crying but I wasn't. I got up and walked to the other side of the table and pulled her into my arms. She buried her head in my jacket and began sobbing.

_A/N: So this chapter was twice as long as the last. I guess knowing people were actually going to read it was inspiring. Anyway please review and tell me if you want more = D_


	3. Chapter 3

*Clare's pov*

It'd been three days since Eli had told me about his Dad. We had both tried to go on as normal. I knew Eli didn't want me to make a big deal out of it. So I didn't. I wanted to talk to him about it though. I needed to know if there was anything else. I needed to know what else his dad did to him. But he made it more than clear that it wasn't something he wanted to talk about. Instead he went on being his cocky, sarcastic self. But we both knew it was all an act. There was something missing. His eyes were dull, they were missing the shine they always had.

"Why hasn't he called me yet? Or texted me?" I asked Adam over the phone. I was going crazy. Eli's dad was supposed to be arriving at his house at Noon. It was already 1:30 and I hadn't heard from him. What if something happened?

"Clare, just chill. I'm sure he's fine. He's probably just busy." Adam told me reassuringly. I knew he was probably right but I still couldn't stop thinking about the worst case scenario. All I could do was sigh and hope he took that as a reply. I really wasn't in a mood to talk, but I didn't know what else to do. I was sick with worry and I had nothing to do today. It was the first Saturday in months that I wasn't with Eli. And Adam was grounded so he wasn't an option.

"Sorry Clare but I have to go." Adam told me. "My mom will kill me if she finds out I'm on the phone." I said goodbye to him and hung up.

I got up from my place at the Kitchen table and walked over to the window. It was starting to rain. I thought it was strange. It had been so nice out for the past month. It was actually quite ironic. The one day I felt like crawling back in to bed was the one day the weather was like this.

Actually crawling back into bed didn't sound like a bad idea. Ever since that day at The Dot I hadn't been sleeping well. I kept waking up in the middle night having nightmares about Eli.

Last night I had a dream that a bald man covered with tattoos and piercing was making a huge bonfire in what looked like a backyard. He threw pieces of cloth in making the fire spread higher and throwing off plumes of smoke. Next he went back in the house, coming out with what looked like a log covered in sap. Slowly he made his way to the giant fire. He laughed loudly before throwing the figure in. Just as I realized that the "log" was actually a dead, bloody, Eli, the fire exploded into black dust. I woke up screaming. Unfortunately that wasn't the worst dream I had had. The others were much worse.

Needing to get that image out of my head I left the kitchen and walked into my living room. I sat on the couch and turned on the tv. I mindlessly flipped through channels but nothing caught my eye. Finally I gave up on watching tv and took out my phone to call Alli.

"Oh wow look at that guy." Alli said pointing at a tall guy with thick brown hair.

"Yea I guess he's okay." We were sitting in the food court at the mall and Alli was constantly pointing out boys our age, who she thought were hot. I still couldn't stop thinking about Eli. I looked down at my phone to see if he had texted me. He hadn't.

"Okay Clare. What's wrong?" She asked. "You're being way more boring than usual."

I explained to her the situation with Eli. I told her that his Dad was coming back today and that he was really upset about it. I was sure to leave out the part where he was abused though.

"Wow really? _That's _what you're worried about?" I nodded in reply. "Then text him. Duh."

I smiled it. It seemed so simple. I couldn't believe I hadn't thought about it. I took out my phone and sent him a text. He replied almost instantly

**Clare:** evrythng ok?

**Eli:** 4now….cant talk now….txt u l8r

I smiled in relief. At least now I knew he was alright. I was able to relax knowing that I would be talking to him later.

We spent the rest of the day shopping. Shopping for us meant, Alli forcing me to buy over revealing clothes and spending too much money.

By the time I got back home at 7:00 I was tense again. It'd been four hours and Eli hadn't texted me like he had promised. I tried really hard not to be one of those clingy girlfriends and usually I succeeded. This was different though.

After dinner I sprawled out on my bed and did my homework. Unlike most teenagers I didn't really mind doing homework. It gave me something to do. By 10:00 I was exhausted. Mostly because of these dreams keeping me awake.

I laid in bed praying that my dreams would stay away tonight. I just wanted one night of peaceful sleep. Eli still hadn't sent me anything. Oh Eli. It wasn't fair. He had gone through so much and he was only 17. I had always felt bad because of Julie. I hated that he blamed himself for his girlfriend's death when it wasn't really his fault. But knowing that his childhood was so horrible also . . . it sent me over the edge. I wished it had happened to me and not him. I had such a nice life. It seemed like everyone else had the true problems. Eli and my sister were the first people to come to mind. I hated it.

I was finally starting to fall asleep when I heard my phone vibrate on next to me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw who it was from.

**Eli: **C u the dot. 10am. love u. gnight

**Clare: ** Ok. love you 2.

I loved it when he said he loved me. Even over text. I was able to fall asleep better knowing that I would be seeing Eli in the morning.

_A/N: Sorry it was uneventful and lacking Eli. There'll be plenty of him in the next chapter. I promise. Oh and thanks for the reviews = D_


	4. Chapter 4

*Eli's pov*

"I just don't understand why I should be here." I argued. I was trying to convince my Mom that it'd be better if I wasn't here when my Dad got here. She wouldn't listen.

"Because he's your father Eli, and he wants to see you." She said as she hurried around the kitchen trying to get it as clean as possible. I didn't know why she even bothered. We both knew my Dad was a slob.

"Yeah but I don't really want to see him." I said as I handed her the plate she was reaching for.

"I know you're upset with you father. But it was three years ago. He wants to fix things between you and you're going to let him." She stopped what she was doing and looked at me. "He wants back in your life."

"Well I don't want him in my life!" I yelled. "And I sure as hell don't want him in our house!"

"Elijah go change your shirt." She said looking over what I was wearing. "I want your father to atleast _think _I did a good job raising you." With that she left the room.

I couldn't believe it. Did she just say she did a bad job raising me? More importantly, was she seriously trying to _impress _him? There was no reason she should care whether or not the house was clean. And she'd never cared about what I wore before. It made no sense.

I went up to my room and sat on the floor, leaning against my bed. I tried to forget that in 25 minutes the man who ruined my life would be here. Living under the same roof as me. I just hoped he wouldn't try to pull anything. Although I'd gotten in my fair share of fights in the past few years, my Dad was still bigger than me. I wouldn't be able to defend myself.

"Eli your dad's here!" My mom called from downstairs. I looked at the clock. 12:40. He was late. This didn't surprise me.

I took my time going downstairs. This was the moment I had been dreading for years. The moment I had prayed would never come. But here it was. I made it to the bottom stairs and turned the corner, I found myself face to face with my dad.

"Eli!" He said excitedly, wrapping his arms around me in a hug. I didn't return the embrace. Instead I stood with my hands to my side, clenching my teeth.

It felt like an eternity had gone by until he finally let go of me. We both stood there awkwardly looking each other up and down. He was the same as I remembered. Fairly tall, with pale skin and dark hair. He was fatter then I remembered but I figured that could be blamed on his love for beer and junk food.

After a moment of us wordlessly staring at each other my mom broke the silence.

"So Eli your Dad is going to take you out to lunch, so you guys can." She paused to think. "Umm…bond"

"I already ate." I said sourly. It was a lie but there was no way I was going anywhere alone with him. Especially not in a car. A car…that brought back bad memories.

"Well think of it as an early dinner then." He had a grin on his face. An expression I knew far too well.

There was no point in arguing. He always got what he wanted. Something I had inherited. Unfortunately it didn't work on my parents.

Less than 30 minutes later I and my Dad sat across from each other at a booth. After awhile of pointless small talk, mostly coming from his end of the conversation, he became serious. I knew this couldn't be good. I braced myself for what he was going to say next.

"I know I messed up. I hurt you and I'm sorry." He said looking down at the table.

"Hurt me?" I said trying to keep my voice down. "You _molested_ me, you _beat_ me, and then you _left _me." I snarled. I was going to keep going but I remembered what Clare told me about being the bigger person. I clenched my fists as he replied.

"I left you for your safety." He said quietly as he looked up at me. "I didn't want to hurt you anymore."

I wasn't buying it. I knew when my dad was lying and this was one of those times. Whenever he lied he ran his fingers through his hair. It was something I noticed when him and my mom used to fight. It came in handy later on.

"Elijah Goldworthy, I promise that I will _never _do that to you again." He still was looking at the table.

I wanted to believe him. I really did. But I couldn't. There was no way I would ever be able to trust him again.

"Well if you supposedly "care" about me, then _leave._" I began. "Leave. Go back to where ever it is you were. And stay out of my life. I don't want you here. I want to go on living my life the way I have for the past three years. I'm happy without you. I have friends. I have a girlfriend. And most importantly I have a _home."_

With that I got up from the table and left, leaving him speechless. I didn't remember until I got to the parking lot that I had driven here with him. I'd have to wait for him.

"Shit" I muttered to myself. This would be a fun ride home.

As I expected the ride home was interesting. It was mostly quiet. He tried to talk to me but every time he did I would turn up the volume on my iPod even more. I really needed to get my good headphones back from Clare. I forgot how helpful they could be.

"How'd it go?" I heard my Mom ask my Dad from the kitchen. I almost laughed. We all knew it wouldn't go well.

"I think it went pretty well." He lied. This did make me laugh. But what made me laugh even more was when my mom believed him. For a smart woman she was pretty dumb.

Tired of listening to them talk I went up to my room. After clearing off a spot on my bed I went and got my French homework I needed to do. French wasn't my best subject. I did better in classes that were actually in _English._ After awhile my phone vibrated on my bed next to me. It was Clare.

**Clare:** evrythng ok?

I'd been so distracted today I had forgotten to talk to her. I really hoped she wasn't pissed. I hated having her mad at me. But I just really wasn't in the mood to talk to her. I wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

**Eli:** 4now….cant talk now….txt u l8r

I finished my French homework and was about to go put on a new cd I got and text Clare, then I remembered I had to review a paper she had written. She really was a good writer. I loved reading her work. Just as I was about to finish her paper I heard a knock at my door.

"Come in" I called. I really hoped it wasn't my Dad. He was the last person I wanted to talk to and I was pretty sure I'd made that clear.

My Dad stormed into my room. I could tell he was angry. "You told your mom!" He yelled.

Told my mom? I couldn't figure out what he meant. After thinking for a minute I realized what he meant. After he left. I told her what he did to me.

"It was a long time ago." I said as I slowly stood up from my bed and tried to make my way to the door. Unfortunately he was blocking my path to the door. I knew he couldn't do anything with my mom in the house. When I began to walk by him he grabbed me by the arm and twisted me back around.

Leaning down to my face he whispered "You will _never_ do that again. Do you hear me?" I could only nod in reply. After that he turned around and left my room.

I went back and sat on my bed rubbing my arm where he had grabbed me. I was sure it had left a bruise. I grabbed my phone and sent Clare a text message.

**Eli: **C u the dot. 10am. love u. gnight

I smiled when she replied.

**Clare: ** Ok. love you 2.


	5. Chapter 5

*Clare's pov*

"Your Dad actually threatened you like that?" I asked in shock when Eli told me what his Dad had told him last night.

"It wasn't as much of a threat as it was a statement." Eli said. I didn't understand how he could be so calm about it all.

"Eli that's a _threat_." I said, trying to emphasize 'threat.'

Eli just shrugged and took a sip of his Coke. "There's not much he can do as long as my mom's there." We both knew that wasn't true. He could come into Eli's room last night. "Well nothing serious at least."

That last part had me a little worried "And what do you consider serious?"

Eli thought for a second. "Oh you know, anything that involves blood, black eyes, or me being unconscious."

His definition of 'serious' worried me. What worried me even more was that he kept rubbing his arm. I knew he didn't want to talk about it but I felt like I needed to ask. "Umm Eli . . . he didn't . . . you know . . . hurt you did he?"

Eli didn't answer me right away. I had a feeling he was deciding whether or not he should tell me. Finally he sighed and said "Yeah but it's just a little bruise. Nothing I can't handle."

Knowing someone had hurt Eli just last night was like a knife to my heart. While I was safe at home he was being hurt. It was almost unbearable.

"H-how bad?" I asked, stumbling over my words.

Eli gave me a slight smile. "Like I said Clare, it's nothing I can't handle."

I kept looking at him, implying that I wanted more than just that. He sighed and took off his jacket revealing a dark purple bruise across his arm. I tried to find the right words but I couldn't come up with anything. Instead I traced my fingers along the outline of the injury. He winced when I pressed to hard. I mumbled a quick apology and pulled my hand back quickly.

"Clare." He said grabbing my hand across the table. "It's okay. I'll be fine. That's nothing." He said looking down at his arm. Still holding my hand, he used his free hand to run his fingers through my hair.

After finishing up at The Dot we spent the next few hours hanging out at Adam's house. I laid on Adam's couch while they sat on the floor playing video games. Not really what I would consider 'fun' but there were my bestfriends, I would do whatever they wanted.

I spent most of the time we were at Adams trying to figure out how to get Eli to let me come over. I needed to see how bad things really were.

"Do you think I could come over?" I asked, trying to look as sweet as possible. "I really don't want to go home."

"Clare I don't think that's really a good idea." I was afraid that's what he would say.

"Please? My parents are fighting again. I can't listen to it anymore." That wasn't entirely true. They were fighting but I didn't really care. I was used to it. Now I was able to completely ignore it.

Eli thought about it for a minute and gave in. "Yea I guess." After thinking for another second he added "But I don't want you out of might sight. I'm sure he wouldn't do anything to you, but it's not a risk I'm willing to take." I really hoped he was right.

I was surprised when I saw Eli's Dad. He wasn't anything like the man in my dream. He looked normal. He didn't have any tattoos or piercings. He wasn't one of those people you'd see on the street and go out of your way to avoid. He was polite too. He insisted on shaking my hand and even took the time to start a conversation. The entire time Eli had his arm around my waist and had me pulled close to his side. I tried to act as casual as possible. I didn't want him catching on to the fact that I knew something. Finally Eli excused us, claiming that we had homework to do.

"Well he seems…" I tried to think of the right word, "Nice."

Eli nodded. "Doesn't he? It's part of his charm." He spit out charm as if it were a dirty word.

"There's something not write though…" I said mostly to myself. I was thinking out loud. I had a tendency to do that.

"Really? I can't think of anything." Eli said with thick sarcasm. After realizing that came off as rude he smiled at me. Usually I would have said something about it but I knew he was under a lot of pressure.

"No he just seems so normal." I began. "I mean he seems like every other Dad I've ever met. How many people out there are like that? I mean in situations like yours I thought it'd be obvious but it isn't."

Eli nodded in agreement.

I'd been at Eli's house for at least an hour and we were laying in his bed and watching a movie. That's what I loved about Eli. We could do things like this without it involving sex or making out. He was different all the other guys I knew.

"I'll be right back" He said standing up.

"I thought I wasn't allowed out of your site." I said jokingly

"Lock the door behind me." I laughed until I realized he was serious. "Please just do it Clare."

I got up and followed him to the door, locking it after he left. I thought he was over reacting but I didn't question him.

A few minutes after he left I heard yelling. I was tempted to go see what it was but I knew Eli would be mad if I did. I waited and the shouting stopped. Five minutes later there was pounding on Eli's door and he was yelling at me to open it. I jumped up and hurried to the door to get it. Eli pushed me back in and locked the door. It was then that I noticed he was holding a bloody dishtowel to his lip.

"It's nothing Clare." He said before I could answer.

"Eli what happened?" I asked even though I knew the answer.

"Just a little accident. I'm fine." It was clear he wasn't fine. If the towel to his mouth wasn't a dead giveaway the fact that his voice was shaking was.

I led him to the bed and we sat on the edge. I took the towel from him and pressed against his mouth, making sure not to hurt him.

"Can you ask Adam if I can stay there tonight?" He asked, his voice muffled from the cloth. I nodded and dialed his number.

"Adam its Clare." I said hurriedly. I explained the situation to him and he agreed to let Eli stay there.

"Thanks Adam." I said before hanging up.

"I'll drive you home." Eli told me as he stood up. The bleeding had finally let up. "My Dad left. He'll be back soon though."

Eli drove me home. When he pulled up to my house I leaned over and hugged him tight not letting go until he told me he needed to go. I kissed him one last time and got out.

"I love you Clare."

"I love you too Eli."

_A/N:Two chapters in one night? Yea I'm good. I did this in a hurry because my friend basically forced me too. Sorry if it's not the best. I'm tired._


	6. Chapter 6

*Eli's pov*

Adam handed me a towel to put on my lip that had started bleeding again. "So how did this happen?" Adam asked softly, resting his hand on my shoulder. We were sitting on the dark leather couch in the Torres' living room.

"I went down stairs, me and my Dad started arguing, he grabbed my head and threw my face into the edge of our kitchen counter, then he ran to his car and left." I said all in one breath. The thought of what had happened made me shiver. Apparently Adam could tell because he scooter closer to me and rubbed my arm.

"Eli that's horrible." He said, concern clouding his eye. "You need to tell somebody."

Tell somebody? That was funny enough to make me laugh, but I didn't. "I already did tell someone, you and Clare. And besides I'd consider this a win on my part." I said with a half sincere smile.

Adam's expression went from confusion to shock and then back to confusion. "Win? How is this a win? You have a busted up lip! And I want to look at it."

"I have all my teeth still don't I?" I moved the towel from my mouth so Adam could look at it.

I spent a good few minutes lost in thought while Adam poked at my bloody swollen lip. How had my life come to this? It had all been perfect for so long and now it was back to the way it started. I guess history really does repeat itself. I winced as Adam did something to the cut. I watched as Adam reached for the towel, gently wiping the blood that had begun to drip down my chin. Adam. He must be so annoyed with me, I wish I hadn't called him, it wasn't his job to take care of me. But I hadn't known what else to do. I didn't want to put this burden on Clare. Oh god Clare. She must be so worried. First she was worrying about her parents, and now me too?

"Dude." Adam said waving his hand in front of me. "Dude your phones ringing."

I snapped out of it. I didn't realize I was spacing out. I had a problem with that. But he was right, my phone was ringing. I listened to my familiar ringtone as I scrambled through my jacket pocket trying to find it. I was in such a hurry to answer it that I didn't bother to look at the caller ID informing me it was my mom.

"Hello?" I asked relieved I got to it on time.

"Eli where in the world are you?" My mom asked, her voice laced with irritation. Even over the phone I could tell when I was in for it. She looked for reasons to get mad at me.

"Chill mom. I'm just at Adam's" I tried to be as reassuring as possible. I didn't think it worked.

"Elijah you need to tell us when you're leaving the house. Your dad came upstairs to check on you two and you were gone."

Did she really think he would even _think _about checking on me? She was with him for 16 years and still didn't know the most basic things about him.

"Sorry I didn't even think to tell him." That wasn't a complete lie. I didn't think to tell him. Mostly because he had just finished beating the shit out of me. "So I think I'll just stay at Adam's tonight if that's-" She cut me off before I could finish my sentence.

"No you will not. We're having a family night." A family night? She was insane.

After a few minutes of arguing back and forth, I finally agreed. I wasn't usually one to give in, but when she threatened to not let me see Clare I decided I wouldn't risk it.

I walked in my front door as silent as possible. I didn't want to make a scene out of my appearance. I walked by the kitchen door way and casually glanced in, not expecting to see anything. Instead of a empty spotless kitchen, I saw my mother sitting on the kitchen counter. My Dad had his arms around her waist and they were kissing more passionately then I had seen them do in my entire life. I had the urge to yell at them but I decided it'd be better to pretend I hadn't seen anything.

"I'm home." I called as I continued to walk by the kitchen and into the living room.

I sat down on the old ripped up couch in the middle of the living room. This was the one room in our entire house that wasn't filled with expensive furniture that we couldn't afford. Even my room was decent, the reason she neglected this room would always be a mystery for me.

Picking up the remote I hit the power button and searched through channel listings trying to find something on that wasn't too unbearable. Unfortunately all I could find was News and over rated reality shows. Finally I settled on some gossip show on MTV.

"Eli what happened to your face?" My Dad asked from behind me, making me jump. I had been so caught up in whether or not Miley Cyrus got a nose job that I didn't hear him enter the room.

"Oh god Eli what happened?" My mom asked from behind him. "Don't tell me you got in another fight" she pleaded.

"No I umm…" I stumbled for words. I hadn't had time to think of an excuse, and my Dad's mock surprise threw me off guard. "Me and Adam were just uhh…rough housing and we uhh…got carried away." I really hoped that was believable.

"I guess your Father is going to have to teach you how to throw a punch." She said as she spun around and exited the room.

"Can you go now?" I asked eagerly, not wanting to be near him.

"Now why would I want to do that?" He asked, remaining behind me. I stared straight at the TV hoping he would get tired and leave.

Suddenly he grabbed a fistful of my dark hair and yanked my head backwards as he put is free arm around my throat, cutting off my oxygen. I struggled to pull on his arm as I gasped for breath but it was no use.

Leaning down he whispered in my ear "That's not the way you talk to me."

He released his grip and walked towards the door way. "I'm not going anywhere Eli." He said smiling as he left the room. Leaving me on the couch trying to regain my breath.

I stood in front of my bathroom mirror studying the red mark left on my neck from the day before. I didn't want to go to school like this. I didn't care what anyone else though of the condition I was in, but I didn't want to worry Adam and Clare. I still didn't think there was anything to worry about but I knew they were going to think differently. They didn't understand that this was just part of my life.

I sighed as I thought about the day to come.

_A/n: Sorry it took so long to update but schools started again and I just don't have the time. I'll try to update more regularly though = )_


	7. Chapter 7

*Clare's pov*

I stood frowning in front of the full length mirror attached to the back of my bedroom door. Something wasn't right but I couldn't figure out what. Maybe my skirt was too long. Or maybe the bow in my hair was lopsided. I couldn't tell. I had bags under my eyes from my continuous lack of sleep. I was a mess. I was falling apart. This wasn't like me. I was Saint Clare. I was organized. I was perfect. I didn't have worries. What happened to me?

Sighing I grabbed my bag off of my bed and left my room, closing the door behind me. I took the stairs hurriedly one by one. I yelled a quick good bye to my mom as she poured another cup of coffee in the kitchen. My dad was gone already. I heard him leave early this morning, before my mom was awake. This was how every morning in our house had been lately. It used to upset me, now it was just part of the routine.

As I reached for my bike leaning up against the side of my house I thought for a second. I wasn't in much of a hurry to get to school. I decided to take the time to walk. I put the dark blue bike back and walked out the drive way, heading down the street to Degrassi.

As I walked I let my mind wander. I wondered what Eli was doing right now. I wondered how it went at Adams last night. Neither of them had taken the time to call or text me. I hoped that went along with the old saying "no news is good news." I passed a man standing on a street corner playing guitar, with the case open asking for money. This led me to wonder if Eli had any talents. It wasn't something we'd ever talked about. I smiled as a memory of a crush from Junior High popped into my head. His name was Jason and he was a musician. I had been crazy about him. Secretly I still found myself watching him in the halls occasionally. How I went from someone like him, to KC, to Declan, to Eli, I would never understand.

As I walked down the side walk I noticed that a dark blue SUV I had seen when I left my house was behind me. Usually I wouldn't think much of it, but I had been going down numerous side streets in an attempt to be late for school. Getting worried I sped up, trying not to be too obvious of my fright. I desperately searched the empty street with my eyes, hoping to find someone else. The road was deserted except for me and the car that was now slowing down next to me.

"Clare right?" A man called through his open window. I sighed with relief as I recognized the man as Eli's dad. Then a sudden chill ran through my body when I realized it was _Eli's dad_. The man who hurt when I was just in the room above them.

I tried to remain calm, as far as he was aware I knew nothing about his 'relationship' with Eli. "Yeah. Hello Mr. Goldsworthy." I forced myself to smile although inside I was screaming with disgust.

"Do you want a ride to school?" He asked me. I shook my head 'no' and began to reply, but he interrupted me. "Oh come on Clare, it's below freezing and you're not even half way there."

Inside I was screaming 'NO!' but instead I nodded my head and climbed into his car. I knew it was a bad idea, but he had a valid point and I didn't want to come off as rude.

We made small talk for a few minutes, as I sat in the passenger seat uncomfortably.

"Umm I think our schools that way." I pointed out when he made a turn putting us in the opposite direction of where we were going.

He just nodded his head in reply. My mouth went dry as he kept going. I didn't realize what he was planning on doing until he pulled the car over in an empty parking lot. The open space was dark due to the clouded sky and fairly secluded as it sat next a building that clearly hadn't been touched in years. I knew my chances of getting away were nonexistent.

He took the keys out of the ignition and slipped them into his pocket as he got out of the car and hurried to my side of the car. In a panic I locked the door. I knew it was a useless gesture considering he had the keys, but it was all I could think to do. Unlocking the door, he pulled me out by the collar of my jacket making me fall onto the wet ground. Pulling me up off the pavement, he put a firm hand on the back of my neck and led me inside the building.

_A/N: Sorry for the long wait again but I have a mixture of school and writers block holding me back. So this chapter was really short and I didn't plan it to be like that. It was going to be a lot longer but I think this was actually a good place to leave off .The next chapter will be better. Reviews please? = )_


	8. Chapter 8

*Eli's POV*

"Damn it Clare." I muttered as I closed my phone and slipped it into the pocket of my black skinny jeans.

When Clare didn't show up to school I just assumed she was running late. But when I got to my 3rd period class which I shared with Clare, and realized she wasn't there I knew something was wrong. After calling and texting her numerous times I decided I needed to go check on her. It wasn't like her to just not show up, especially without checking in with anyone.

Grabbing my backpack out of my locker I exited the building. I looked up at the sky as I hurried to my car, it was amazing how quickly the weather could change. Yesterday it was a clear beautiful day, today the sky was a shade of gray that could almost pass as black with a misty fog that hovered throughout the air.

I climbed into the driver's seat and drove to Clare's house. Because of the thick fog and the wet streets I was forced to drive slower than my liking. After a drive that took much longer than I expected, I finally arrived at Clare's house.

"Clare open the door it's me!" I called through the front door. Tugging my hood up with one hand I continued to knock with the other. Both her parents cars were gone so I knew they weren't home, but there was no indication whether or not Clare was.

I wondered if they had a spare key hidden out here. I looked around in the common hiding spots and found one under the door mat. I laughed as I unlocked the door. Putting a key there is just asking for someone to break in. Kind of like I was doing.

"Clare are you here?" I yelled as I walked through the first floor of their house. Everything looked normal. I walked up the stairs and went to her bedroom door. It was closed. That was odd for Clare. She was a fairly open person at home.

I knocked on the door. I was about to walk away to check the rest of the house when I heard what sounded like whimpering. Opening the door to her room quickly I heard more of the whimpering which I soon recognized to be muffled cries. Her room was empty and I was about to leave, when I remembered to check the bathroom leading off of her door.

Clare was lying on the tiled floor next to the bath tub. She was wearing nothing but a bra and underwear and she was covered in blood. Her hands were tied behind her back along with her feet, and she has some sort of scarf or something in her mouth. That was when I recognized the whimpering as muffled cries. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That was the only thing that my mind could process.

"Oh god Clare." I ran over to her and dropped to my knees. I fumbled to untie the ropes holding her wrists together but the knots were tight and I couldn't loosen it.

I looked at Clare's face as I searched my backpack for my pocket knife so I could cut the ropes. Shit I didn't take the scarf at of her mouth.

"Eli" She half cried and half sighed when I finally took out the strip of fabric, allowing her to talk.

"Shh it's okay." I reassured her as I cut the ropes from her wrists and ankles.

I picked Clare up as she put her arms around my neck, and carried her back into her bedroom. I sat her down gently on her bed and wrapped a pink robe around her, which had been hanging on her door.

"What happened?" I whispered in her ear as I wrapped her in my arms.

I ran my fingers through her hair as she started crying again. I couldn't believe this was happening to her. I wasn't sure what to do next. I knew I needed to get her to tell me what happened, but I also needed to get her cleaned up. I decided that the first thing I needed to do was clean all of the blood off her.

I went to her bathroom and wetted a towel. There was no way I'd be able to get her to take a shower. I wasn't even sure if she could stand up. I had a feeling she was in shock.

I came back with a towel and began to wipe the drying blood off of her. She winced as I came in contact with her skin. When she was clean I could see that her pale skin was covered in dark splotches. Bruises. I gasped, and Clare shuddered. What the hell happened to her?

I brought Clare clothes and we sat in silence. I knew what had happened. She was raped. But I wasn't going to have her talk about it until she was ready. I spent the next half hour trying to imagine who would do something like this to her. The world was full of freaks. It literally could have been _anyone._ My first thought was Fitz, but he had moved away after the Vegas Night incident. I couldn't think of anyone else. We lived in a pretty safe area. It must have been random.

"He raped me." Clare whispered, pulling me out of my daze.

"Who?" She didn't say anything in return. "Clare, who did this to you?"

"Your da- da-" Clare stuttered. "Your dad." She layed down on her side and started crying.

My dad. How did I not see that? I should have figured it out the second I saw her. It was thing for him to do this to me, but for him to do this to Clare? That was insane. She hadn't done a _single _thing to him.

"Clare I am so sorry. This is all my fault."

Clare shook her head. "No it's not."

I knew what I had to do. I took out my phone and called Adam.

"Can you come over to Clare's? It's important." He agreed and I hung up.

"Clare I'm going to take care of this."

Adam arrived moments later. I didn't know how he got here so quick, but I didn't question it. I hadn't had to explain what happened to her. He could tell as soon as he saw her. Unlike me he also knew who did it to her.

"Did you call the cops?" He asked as he went and sat next to Clare who was still laying in her bed.

"No. Just stay with her." I told him.

I left the house and went out to my car starting the engine. I dug through the glove box. I knew it was in there. I started getting worried. Where the hell was it? I finally found it and slipped it in my pocket before driving away.

I parked the hearse in front of my house where I always did, and threw open the front door.

He was sitting on the couch watching a re-run of a hockey game that was aired a few days ago.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" My voice asked shaking.

"Huh?" He asked. Not looking up from the tv.

I pulled the gun out of my jacket pocket and pointed it directly at him. "What did Clare EVER do to you?" I screamed. I was sure my face was red. I felt like I would explode with anger.

"I don't know what you're talking about." After looking up at me, he added "Eli put that away."

"You raped her!" I yelled. I put my finger on the trigger. I'd never shot a gun before so I wasn't completely sure what to do. I figured I'd seen enough movies to figure it out though.

"What is going on in here?" My mom asked, running into the room. She was home from work earlier than I expected. Damn it. "Eli put that down." I could tell she was trying to remain calm but her voice was more shaky then my hand.

I did what I was told. I couldn't do anything with her standing right there. It's not that she would be a witness. I knew I would be going to jail for this. I didn't want to scare her though. The last thing she needed was to see her son kill his father.

"He raped Clare." I spit out glaring at him. My mom came over and slowly removed the gun from my hands.

"Honey he doesn't know what he's talking about." My Dad said to her. He started to get up to leave the room but my mom stopped him.

"Sit back down." She looked at me. "You too."

I sat down on the arm of a chair on the other side of the room. I tried to stay as far away from him as possible.

"Elijah Goldsworthy. You're accusing your father of _rape?_" I hated the way she could stay so calm. It made it impossible to figure out what she was thinking.

"He raped Clare! Just like he raped me. You should see her, she is _covered _in bruises. Because of him!" I yelled pointing at him. I hadn't realized I was crying.

"Stop lying. Eli you can't just go around blaming everyone you're mad at of rape!"

My mom began to say something but I interrupted her. "I'm lying! Just like I was lying when you molested me? When you beat me? So is this a lie to?" I asked pointing at my lip. I then took off my Jacket and showed him my bruised arm. "And this is a lie too isn't it? And that's a lie to?" I moved my hair so they could see my neck. "So you didn't do any of that either?"

My mom shook her head. "Neither of you are leaving this room. I'm getting a drink."  
She left the room.

Neither of us said anything. I didn't take my eyes off of him. I knew my mom didn't believe me. She was going to take his side.

"I thought you were getting a drink?" My Dad asked when she came back into the room empty handed.

"We didn't have anything."

None of us said anything. I sat very stiff trying to figure out what was going to happen next. My Dad was trying to be calm, but I could tell it was an act. My mom stood by the doorway staring out the window.

My phone vibrated in my pocket.

**Adam: **_Did you call the cops_

**Eli: **_No. Y?_

**Adam: **_They R here_

What was going on? I looked up at my mom who was still looking out the window. Without looking at me she nodded.

A few minutes later 2 police officers ran into the room, guns out and pointed at my Dad.

"David Goldsworthy?" One of the police officers asked. My Dad nodded, his face had lost all color. "David Goldsworthy, you are under arrest for the rape of Clare Edwards." One of the officers read off as the other handcuffed him and led him out of the house.

I sat in shock. I couldn't believe it.

My mom came and sat down next to me. "Eli I am so sorry. I really thought he changed." My mom said to me sadly.

"What?" Had she known this whole time?

"I knew what he did to you. He left when I threatened to have him arrested. He came back and I thought he was better."

"Wait." I stood up and looked at her. "You _knew_ this entire time?"

She nodded.

"I can't believe you." I stood up and left the house.

_A/N: So I know what you're all thinking. . . "Why does Eli have a gun?" But I'll explain later. I think this is going to be one of the last chapters. So please review and what not = ) Oh and I think I'm changing the rating to M. . .because I'm cool like that _


	9. Chapter 9

*Clare's pov*

"Clare I am so sorry." Eli whispered into my ear.

We were lying in my bed and I had my head on his chest and he had his arms wrapped around me. I'd finally stopped crying, much to Eli's delight. We hadn't talked at all since he came over. Neither of us wanted to. The day had been so hectic. I didn't know what had happened at his house. All I know was that someone called the cops. I hadn't wanted to ask him.

"Eli it's not your fault." I assured him. I knew he didn't believe me. But it really wasn't.

"Clare it _is _my fault. If it wasn't for me none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have even met you." I didn't know what to say to that. He had a point.

"When you said you were going to take care of things." I began. "What did you mean?"

He was quiet. "I was going to shoot him. I would have if my mom didn't come in."

I gasped. Did Eli just say he was going to _shoot _someone? "Where did you get a gun?"

Eli was quiet again. I knew he didn't want to answer, but I needed to know. "I got it awhile back. I was going to scare Fitz with it. I guess he had the same idea."

I didn't know what to say to that. I also didn't know why he had a loaded gun just to scare someone. I contemplated whether I should ask, I decided against it.

"Go to sleep Clare." Eli said kissing the top of my head and reached over to turn off the lamp beside my bed.

Eli was staying the night. I didn't know what happened but he didn't want to go home. I was more than happy to have him here with me. If he wasn't here I don't know what I'd be doing. I'd probably be lying on the floor crying. Or I might be doing something a lot worse. I didn't know and I didn't want to think about it.

I stared at my alarm clock next to my bed and watched as the numbers slowly changed. I listened to the pattern of Eli's breathing. I listened as the rain began to bounce off of the roof. Patterns. Order. That's what my life used to have. Now it had nothing. What happened? Just a few weeks ago my life was perfect.

I thought back over the events of the day. It started off fairly normal. Then it all went downhill from there.

I never thought I'd say this but I was actually jealous of Darcy. She didn't remember being raped. I remember every detail. It wasn't fair.

"Clare wake up." Eli shook me.

I woke up with a gasp. I was crying.

"You were screaming." Eli told me.

Was I? I couldn't remember what I was dreaming about. I'm sure it was about what happened to me. Whatever it was I didn't feel like talking about it. I rolled over and layed my head back down, leaving Eli sitting in the dark.

I woke up to the sun shining through my window, and the clock on the wall declaring it was 6:30am. I'd barely slept four hours. That was a first for me. I carefully got out of bed, doing my best not to disturb the sleeping Eli who had his arm around my waist. I looked down at him and smiled. He was so cute asleep, I leaned down and kissed his hand before walking over to my bedroom window. The sky was grey but there was sun beginning to break through.

I went into my bathroom and took a shower before Eli woke up. I made a decision last night when I was laying in bed. I was going to go on with my life. I was going to start today pretending like nothing happened. I wanted people to keep treating me like Clare, not like 'Clare who was raped.' I remember how everyone was with Darcy. They sat there and judged her every move. Waiting for any sign that she might be unstable. They were waiting for her to snap, and she did. That gave me a thought. What if _I _snapped? What if I lost it? I wouldn't let that happen.

I got out of the shower and did my hair and makeup. When I finished I noticed Eli was still asleep.

"Eli time to wake up." I called as I walked over to my mirror and put in a pair of earrings.

"What's going on?" He asked sleepily as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Well school starts in 30 minutes and you're not awake." I told him, flashing him a smile.

He gave me a look. I knew that look. I'd seen it to many times. He was questioning my sanity.

"Clare I don't think you should be going to school." He got up and began trying to fix his hair. I loved how concerned he was about his look.

"Eli I'm fine. I can do this." I assured him. I grabbed my bag from my closet and motioned for Eli to follow me.

Eli drove us to school. I caught him glancing at me from the corner of his eye but I tried to ignore him.

We met Adam at his locker. "Wow look who's here." He smiled at me and gave me a hug.

The three of us made small talk until the bell rang. Eli kissed me on the head before he left and whispered in my ear "Are you going to be ok?" I nodded. I was. I hoped I was.

Eli went one direction while Adam and I went the other. As we walked to class together I was quiet.

"Clare are you going to be alright?" Adam asked me, pulling me aside.

I could say 'yes' but it would be a lie. I didn't want to pretend anymore. I'd only been doing it for a short amount of time and I was already exhausted. Instead I just shook my head. I tried to keep the tears that were forming in my eyes away, but I couldn't. Seeing this Adam pulled me into a tight hug and wouldn't let go.

"It's going to be okay Clare. It'll be fine. You have us." He was right. I had him and Eli. They could get me through anything. I was going to be just fine.

_A/N: This was the last chapter. Thank you for all the positive reviews, they mean a lot. I'm sorry if the end was too sudden, I felt like it was at a good place to end it. I also will be doing another Degrassi story soon, so keep an eye out for that. Thank you 3_


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